Wednesday, January 28, 2009

It has been awhile...

Because my laptop crashed for the third time! But I'm now back up and running, which is very exciting. Last weekend, Megan (sister) came to visit Tucson. We had a jam packed few days, but fun nonetheless!

Megan came on her birthday (Jan 16th) and left the following Tuesday. On her birthday, we went out for some drinks (and ended up drinking a pretty nasty drink that the bartenders started on fire, which was quite exciting).



It really was that bad. We spent the following day walking around the Desert Museum, which is always a fun time. We even got to see the javalinas!




We call this the "Arizona initiation picuture," although you don't have to REALLY sit on it like Megan did, just fake it (she missed that small detail, I learned after hearing her yelp "OUCH!").

That evening, the East Area Residence Halls (which includes the hall that I run) had a big block party behind our buildings, at which there was pizza, drinks, a "photobooth," a guitar hero, and a blow up "race" house. We went there for a few hours, and then headed home for a couple of drinks and TV watching (Amazing Race of course!).




During her visit, Megan also found a new passion: skateboarding. Falling right in front some people didn't slow her down [notice the man on the right staring at her in mid-fall].




After an afternoon of skateboarding and tennis playing in 70+ degree weather, we headed to Tumamock Hill for a short climb.




There is one "person" in Tucson who really misses Megan, and that is Peach. Whenever she had the chance, Megan would play, pet and run around with Peach. And if they weren't running around together, they were sleeping next to each other. (The turtles miss her too).



The next day, we headed out to Padagonia, Arizona - to the "Tree of Life" rejuvination Center, an all raw food retreat center for lunch. Megan is very interested in eating raw. Here is a picture of our lunch.

Red pepper with Zucchini, and "bread" (a bunch of dehydrated veggies compressed together).

We then headed down to Mexico, or so we thought. On the way, we saw a sign for Patagonia Lake State Park, and Megan suggested we check it out, which ended being a VERY fun idea. After stopping at an EXTREMELY beautiful parking area (see Megan doing Yoga next to a cliff like the crazy girl she is), and after a REALLY hard laugh because we could see the "lake" or more like small pond in the eyes of two people who grew up on Lake Erie, we headed down to the park.




After paying the entrance fee, we were SHOCKED to see that the lake is acutally huge!! We pulled into the marina area, and read that you could rent canoes, paddle boats and kayaks until 4:00pm (it was 3:20 at the time), so we ran up to the area where you purchased them to see if we still had a chance at heading out on the lake. We were thrilled when the man working shared that he is acutally really behind in his work, so we can stay out until 5:00. We rented a canoe (of course!) and with a warning that the water is a chilling 45 degrees, we headed out onto the lake.


After an hour and a half of canoeing (and not tipping once!), we headed back in - trying to decide what to do next. Since it would be getting dark soon, we weren't sure if Mexico would be a good idea. Megan then realized: "I made my facebook status say that I'm going to Mexico today, we have to at least go for a second!", so we drove down there and stayed for about half an hour. We each bought bought a pair of earrings (which came with shots of tequila, of course) and headed back to Tucson. It was a long and exausting day, but definitly a great way to end the visit!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

This is how I work out in Arizona.....

As I get back into the swing of things, I've resumed my work out routine, which includes climbing Tumamock Hill, a 3 mile walk/hike up this big "hill."!This is the start - and you end at the top of the hill in this picture.



It takes me about an hour round trip, and it is a heck of a workout!Here is a pictures I took yesterday from the top:



This is about halfway up the hill:


Pretty amazing. It makes working out a lot more interesting when you have this view! The only downside is that I have come across a couple of rattlesnakes, and even once a really really big turanchula. On the plus side, I've seen some wild javalenia, which are pretty cool (they look like pigs).

I'm famous....

:)

http://www.life.arizona.edu/undergraduate/has/halldescripts/pueblodelacienega.asp

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Back in Tucson....

We made it back to Tucson late last night (midnight, or 2AM Buffalo time), and had an uneventful flight (both were actually ON TIME! Rare in these days, it seems!). Today it was 70 degrees with some clouds in the sky (I was a bit warm walking around campus in a sweatshirt and jeans). I could also see some snow up in the mountains, which is close enough for me! :)

I promised some pictures of my apartment, so here they are:


Dining area:


Living room, I hadn't put the patio chair back out yet (with Peach watching me, if you can find her!):





The kitchen:



Very exciting. I have a feeling wherever I move after this will not be as nice as this apartment! I'm off to bed now, RA (Resident Assistant) training starts bright and early tomorrow morning!



Saturday, January 3, 2009

Brrrrr......

I went to the Bandits game tonight (home opener!), which was so much fun, even with the frigid temperatures! I was telling my friend Jess all about Sedona and the "Pink Jeep Tours," and thought it would only be fitting to share that experience on here.


My Mom and I spent some time in Sedona in late September. The drive was really beautiful (about 3 1/2 hours each way), the mountains still amaze me even after being here for over a year!

Sedona is known for having a lot of red rock (literally), and for being very spritual. Our first experience in Sedona was an amazing sunset - which we watched from a location near our hotel. We then went over to a plaza that we saw on our way in, which was very artsy (lots of statues as you will see here), and had dinner.






The next morning, we got up and went hiking at a nearby area that we saw on our way, which we also read had a "vortex." This is what we read, and we to try it for ourselves: "The vortexes of Sedona are named because they are believed to be spiritual locations where the energy is right to facilitate prayer, mediation and healing. Vortex sites are believed to be locations having energy flow that exists on multiple dimensions. The energy of the vortexes interacts with a person’s inner self. It is not easily explained. Obviously it must be experienced."



While we didn't feel any special energies, we got some amazing pictures! After this short hike, we headed off to the Pink Jeep Tours - http://www.pinkjeep.com/. This was by far, one of the coolest things I have ever experienced! We spent about 3 hours in a jeep driving up massive rocks in Sedona. The pictures really are worth a thousand words...








They even let me drive for a little while!!!.....


....Just kidding :) And a few final pictures of this tour to really show you how insane this ride was....







After this trip, we were EXAUSTED! We were thrown all over the place in the Jeep (I was sore the next day)! Needless to say, you should visit Sedona! :)
Enough excitement from me today! Adios!